What’s the application? Using lasers to cut and/or cauterize tissue during surgical procedures, instead of the traditional very small very sharp knives.

What problem(s) is it the solution to? 1) “How can we do surgery without touching the tissues being operated on?” 2) “How can I get rid of these annoying glasses/contact lenses?”

How does it work? First, you strap a device to your head that lets you shoot laser beams from your forehead, like one of the X-Men. then you use a magnifying glass to focus it to where it needs to be. Like so:

(I’m not sure exactly what sort of procedure that is, but I really hope that’s not how they do the surgeries where they re-shape the cornea…)

The basic idea of laser surgery is sort of similar to the previous application, namely, if you focus a laser beam down to a very small spot, it will deliver a great deal of energy to that spot. If that spot happens to be on a bit of human tissue, it can get hot enough to blast the target cells into vapor.

This allows you to make extremely precise cuts in human tissue, with the bonus effect of keeping everything involved nice and sterile, as there is no contact between a physical device that might carry microbes and the tissue in question– just light. The heat involved also tends to kill harmful microscopic critters that are already hanging around, and sometimes to cauterize blood vessles, keeping everything much cleaner.

The default sort of laser surgery that people think of is LASIK vision correction, which is explained in slightly gross detail with step-by-step images here. The idea is to use a powerful laser to blast away bits of the cornea, reshaping it so as to move the focal point to a location closer to the retina, thus improving the patient’s vision.

There are a bunch of other non-LASIK eye surgeries done with lasers, as well. It’s also used for surgeries on other parts of the body, but it’s damnably difficult to sort those applications from the nine billion pages about laser eye surgery. A partial and not very detailed list can be found here, which gives you the basic idea.

Why are lasers essential? Once again, the key to the whole thing is getting a very intense pulse of light directed to a very small point. While I suppose it’s theoretically possible to do this sort of thing with a great big lens on a sunny day, lasers are really the way to go. Especially if you’re in a climate where it’s often cloudy.

Why is it cool? Dude, surgery with lasers!

As noted above, laser scalpels offer a number of nice properties that help reduce the chance of serious complications– reduced bleeding, lower risk of infection, greater precision, etc. And, as a bonus, when you’re done with surgery you can breathe some ether, crank up the Pink Floyd, and enjoy a homemade light show.

Why isn’t it cool enough? Surgical applications of lasers are still kind of limited, and mostly reproduce things that can also be done with a regular scalpel. Also, the radio and tv spots run by some LASIK doctors are pretty annoying.

Comments

I got laser surgery for retina reattachment in the 80’s (not knowing that “state of the art” also meant “no idea of long term effects”). 20 years later another eye surgeon commented “oh God, that looks like someone drove through there with a tank”. That was while he was prepping me for Lasik. Looks like I didn’t get the message the first time, but then, going from 20 and a mile to 20/30 in 5 min was pretty eyeopening.

Don’t forget that lasers allow surgeons to operate where they can’t get a scalpel, such as the retina of the eye. Without lasers, people with detached retinas would go permanently blind. With lasers, it’s just a minor surgical procedure.

Dave

P.S. I have a nice photograph of a “really sweet” laser retina surgery result.

Lasers are frequently used to treat diabetic eye disease, prevent or treat retinal tears. What exists now is very different than what used to exist – the power, size, duration, and placement is much more precise. If it helps any, it is so precise that you can use the same equipment on mouse eyes. There are also many more kinds of lasers used with eye surgery now, including so-called “cold” ones. There are even some applications now that you could not do, or not as well without a laser. And yes, the LASIK ads are annoying.

LASIK Surgery has become quite common and the percentage of failures is minute when compared to past. Most of the people prefer LASIK surgery becoz they can avoid lens and glasses when used.LASIK surgery has gained popularity and suggested by many optometrist. I use contact lens and planning to go for surgery as i have constant sight since last year.http://americanlasiksurgeons.com/

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Books

You've read the blog, now try the books:

Eureka: Discovering Your Inner Scientist will be published in December 2014 by Basic Books. "This fun, diverse, and accessible look at how science works will convert even the biggest science phobe." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "In writing that is welcoming but not overly bouncy, persuasive in a careful way but also enticing, Orzel reveals the “process of looking at the world, figuring out how things work, testing that knowledge, and sharing it with others.”...With an easy hand, Orzel ties together card games with communicating in the laboratory; playing sports and learning how to test and refine; the details of some hard science—Rutherford’s gold foil, Cavendish’s lamps and magnets—and entertaining stories that disclose the process that leads from observation to colorful narrative." --Kirkus ReviewsGoogle+

How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog is published by Basic Books. "“Unlike quantum physics, which remains bizarre even to experts, much of relativity makes sense. Thus, Einstein’s special relativity merely states that the laws of physics and the speed of light are identical for all observers in smooth motion. This sounds trivial but leads to weird if delightfully comprehensible phenomena, provided someone like Orzel delivers a clear explanation of why.” --Kirkus Reviews "Bravo to both man and dog." The New York Times.

How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is published by Scribner. "It's hard to imagine a better way for the mathematically and scientifically challenged, in particular, to grasp basic quantum physics." -- Booklist "Chad Orzel's How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is an absolutely delightful book on many axes: first, its subject matter, quantum physics, is arguably the most mind-bending scientific subject we have; second, the device of the book -- a quantum physicist, Orzel, explains quantum physics to Emmy, his cheeky German shepherd -- is a hoot, and has the singular advantage of making the mind-bending a little less traumatic when the going gets tough (quantum physics has a certain irreducible complexity that precludes an easy understanding of its implications); finally, third, it is extremely well-written, combining a scientist's rigor and accuracy with a natural raconteur's storytelling skill." -- BoingBoing